Gint-A-Cuffs V: Packs 1-8

Now's the time, the time is now. Time for Gint-A-Cuffs! As you may recall, I participated for the first time last year and somehow won the durn thing. I'm still amazed at my good fortune. And since it's a no-brainer that I have to defend my title, here's my first post for Gint-A-Cuffs V. I've decided to split the box into 3 posts rather than 4 to help keep you all from growing weary. Let's get going.

BOXTOPPER
OBBH: Bryce Harper (FP) +18

PACK 1
119 Adam Richman -1
217 Pope Francis +1
244 Nick Saban -1
ATY Chris Sale +2
A&G Mini: 259 Matthias Blonski +2

PACK TOTAL +3
RUNNING TOTAL +21

I got off to hot start with last year's boxtopper. This year's didn't quite match it but pulling Harper from the Favorite Player list is a nice bonus. These are nicer than the N43s from 2012 though the checklist is a bit small.

I was definitely a bigger fan of last year's Art Deco look than 2013's medieval bigtop feel. The Allen & Ginter's logo is a tad too large and all the light, scroll-y borders take a up a little too much focus. The two combined scream 'college-town head shop' to me. The pictures and paint daubs look the same as ever but don't really fit in with the rest of the elements.

PACK 2
122 John Jay (FP) +2
333 John Kruk (SP) +2
A&G Mini: 239 Craig Kimbrel +2
Civilizations: Olmecs +3

PACK TOTAL +9
RUNNING TOTAL +30

The Civilizations of Ages Past really sticks out here around the rest of set. If the cobbled border were a lot lighter and the typeface was a bit more subtle, I'd probably really dig the cards. As is, those elements really jump out and not in a good way.

PACK 3
341 Ozzie Smith (SP) +2
307 Darwin Barney (SP) +2
Palaces: Mysore +3
A&G Mini: 129 Miguel Montero +2

PACK TOTAL +9
RUNNING TOTAL +39

Huh, can't say I've ever pulled 2 SPs in the same pack before. Hopefully they behaved themselves in the wrapper.

PACK 4
99 Barry Zito (FT) +1
Black Mini: 18 Matt Harrison +3
ATY: Robinson Cano +2 / -1 NYY = +1 total

PACK TOTAL +5
RUNNING TOTAL +44

I do like the black-bordered mini's this year. 2012's didn't really stand out as much so it's nice to see Topps return to more ink coverage. The expansive insert set this year is Across the Year's which features some historical trivia as it relates to the players' birthdays. I really like the concept here since so much of A&G is about history. One complaint, though, is the numbering system. I understand when they throw the players' initials onto relic and auto numbers but I really don't get the reasoning here. They always have a 100-card insert set. What's wrong with ATY1-100? Or even a chronological numbering system since each card has its own unique date? As far as the design goes, it's definitely bold and the shield looks like something Topps would love to die-cut. All the text at the bottom gets a little muddled, especially the blue A&G logo on that gold color.

PACK 5
319 Matt Kemp (FP/SP) +4
Black Mini: 217 Pope Francis +4
Palaces: Taj Mahal +3

PACK TOTAL +11
RUNNING TOTAL +55

Hey look, Black Francis!  The Palaces & Strongholds design matches the base design much better. The asymmetry is really nice.

PACK 6
241 Matt Cain (FT) +1
ATY Jurickson Profar +2
Full-Size Relic: J.P. Arencibia +10

PACK TOTAL +13
RUNNING TOTAL +68

Okay, here's my first hit of the box. New this year are full-size relic cards. You get a little more 'relic' size-wise but I think the penalty is a card that doesn't look as good. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not a different design than the base design is necessary. The elements are pretty similar between the two. In fact, if you remove the relic portion, I could see this as the runner-up design from their brainstorming sessions.

PACK 7
ATY Jason Kipnis +2
SP Mini: 345 Melky Cabrera +3
Mini Relic: Albert Belle +10

PACK TOTAL +15
RUNNING TOTAL +83

And the hits keep coming. This Albert Belle bat relic is in the traditional A&G mini format with the big honkin' frame. The frames this year aren't the kaleidoscopic wonders from years past but I do think they're nicer than the black borders from last year. I would've been soooo excited to pull this card 20 years ago. 

PACK 8
347 Steven Strasburg (SP) +2
Palaces: Forbidden City +3
Inquiring Minds Mini: Sun Tzu +3

PACK TOTAL +8
RUNNING TOTAL +91

My first mini insert comes from the Inquiring Minds collection. The ionic columns and olive leaves work for Greek thinkers but look off for Sun Tzu here. I guess if you have to represent a singular age of great thinking from history, the Greeks probably have the most recognizable imagery. All in all, I like the design just fine.

A third of the way through the box and I'm ahead of last year's pace. Unfortunately, I've pulled 2 of my 3 hits so I anticipate these numbers to trend down a bit. Also, I forgot to track my non-scoring cards from each pack so I hope I don't get docked for that. *SPOILER ALERT: it won't matter*

Gint-A-Cuffs IV: Packs 7-12

As per my first Gint-A-Cuffs entry, we're starting these packs off with a running total of +82

PACK 7
WIN1 Joe DiMaggio (NYY) -1
110 Heath Bell (FP) +2

118 Carl Yastrzemski
146 Josh Beckett
189 Lance Berkman
194 J.J. Hardy
244 Brett Anderson
Mini258 Doug Fister
PACK TOTAL: +1
RUNNING TOTAL: +83

PACK 8
WIN15 Michael Pineda (NYY) -1
MBF10 Poodle +3
279 Brett Gardner (NYY) -1

56 Jordan Pacheco
90 Roy Halladay
94 Geovany Soto
140 Mike Trout
215 Dan Haren
PACK TOTAL: +1
TOTAL: +84

It seems fitting that the dog mini I get to go with these Yankees is a poodle. Poodles are the Yankees of the dog world. Or the Yankees are the poodles of MLB.

PACK 9

Mini350 Howie Kendrick SP Black +14
MIWC Willow Cove Trainyard +3
130 Madison Bumgarner (Giants) +1
306 Ryan Howard SP +2

128 Andrew McCutchen
156 Trevor Cahill
188 Tom Milone
300 Robeto Clemente
PACK TOTAL: +20
TOTAL: +104

After two consecutive +1 packs, this baby's a shot in the arm. I've read that some think the black border minis this year are a little lacking and I have to agree. I think they'd have been better off to fill the borders with black and have all the little intricate details of the frame be white. It's just a little too gray as it is now.

PACK 10
WTB9 Woolworth Building +3
Mini292 Greg Gumber Black (+3 black border / -1 Greg Gumballs) +2
117 Nick Swisher (NYY) -1
192 Brett Pill (Giants) +1
314 Michael Buffer SP +2

29 Hunter Pence
127 Erick Aybar
180 Tim Federowicz
PACK TOTAL: +7
TOTAL: +111

Well, if I have to get Gumbel'd at least it was a black border so I get a little something out of it. Another good pack for me. The World's Tallest Buildings insert fits in the A&G very well, especially considering the Art Deco feel of this year's design.

PACK 11
WIN16 Miguel Cabrera +2
Mini224 Adam Jones +3
169 Mark Teixeira (NYY) -1

27 Ricky Nolasco
37 James McDonald
114 Johan Santana
187 John Axford
248 Jed Lowrie
PACK TOTAL: +4
TOTAL: +115

PACK 12
MIWC Larry Mudlin +3
Mini177 Stephen Drew A&G +2
33 Chipper Jones (FP) +2
47 Buster Posey (Giants) +1
338 Prince Fielder SP +2

44 Brandon League
247 Hank Aaron
254 Rickey Henderson
PACK TOTAL: +10
TOTAL: +125

Ah, I love that Buster Posey card with all that beautiful orange. It really makes the awkwardness of the Chipper Jones stand out that much more. First off, these horizontal cards really don't look good next to the standard vertical A&G cards. I don't know if there's any rhyme or reason to who gets an action shot versus a nice portrait, but it seems like these have to be plan B cards. And with the aged effect going on, the action gets kind of hard to make out since the colors are pretty much zapped out. Also, it leads to silly stuff like half of Chipper's hat being bitten off into the ether.

Well, halfway done and I've got a pretty good total so far. Hopefully with my hits still to come, I can break the 200 mark.

Gint-A-Cuffs IV: Packs 1-6

I was lucky enough to jump on this year's Gint-A-Cuffs train before it left the station. While I normally stick to design posts and steer clear of pulls/breaks/trades, I figured I could do a little Allen & Ginter review along the way to keep the blog on topic. So here's the first of 4 consecutive G-A-C posts.

BOXTOPPER

I was really excited to start my box off with this beauty. I was expected just a run-of-the-mill N43 or something so I was damn shocked when I cracked the box open to see this huge cabinet card wrapper.
+ 20

PACK 1
WIN29  Nolan Ryan +2
Mini 322 Sergio Santos SP +3

36 Kirk Herbstreit
97 Max Scherzer
105 Arnold Palmer
126 Justin Masterson
145 Drew Storen
267 Neftali Feliz
PACK TOTAL: +5
RUNNING TOTAL: +25

This year's workhorse insert is What's In a Name?, where they show a guy's mini card along with their full given name. Not a whole lot different than the Hometown Heroes cards from last year, though the mini is a neat addition. It's pretty cool to see and read about a guy's full name. It used to be commonplace to know a player's middle name but since it's a bit rarer these days, I like the set.

PACK 2
HTP16 French Revolution +3
Mini124 Jered Weaver A&G +2
335 Alexei Ramirez SP +2
5 David Price (FP) +2

4 Yu Darvish
82 Giancarlo Stanton
206 Joey Votto
266 Carlos Ruiz
PACK TOTAL: +9
RUNNING TOTAL: +34

Another insert is the Historical Turning Points set. They do a good job of running all the way through history, even up to events like the Berlin Wall falling. The image quality of the events themselves don't seem to fit with the borders or the rest of the cards in the whole set.

PACK 3
Stephen Drew Framed Cloth Card +35
WIN5 Troy Tulowitzi +2

118 Carl Yastrzemski
146 Josh Beckett
189 Lance Berkman
244 Brett Anderson
Mini198 Phil Pfister
PACK TOTAL: +37
RUNNING TOTAL: +71

Wow, what a great pack for me! This is my first ever hobby box of A&G so I've never pulled anything like that boxtopper and now this Silk card. Stephen Drew isn't exactly the most sought-after player but I'm pretty happy. Plus the red lines on the border match the D-Backs pretty well. Look at that 01/10!

PACK 4
WIN73 Ryan Zimmerman +2

45 Ewa Mataya
72 Joakim Soria
123 Adam Lind
172 Chris Perez
231 Todd Helton
259 Wade Davis
Mini162 Jeff Francoeur
PACK TOTAL: +2
RUNNING TOTAL: +73

PACK 5
BH14 Mickey Mantle +2
Mini179 Cole Hamels A&G +2
320 Jonathan Papelbon SP +2

39 Brad Peacock
99 Sandy Koufax
124 Jered Weaver
179 Cole Hamles
219 Ian Kennedy
PACK TOTAL: +6
RUNNING TOTAL: 79

Even with 6 points, what a gross pack. I will say that the Baseball Highlight Sketches look a lot better this year. The borders seem to frame the images a little better. It kind of a has the feel of U.S. paper currency, so maybe my reasons for liking it are superficially subconscious. But as far as the guy I pulled in the pack, yuck.

PACK 6
WIN14 Chipper Jones +4
196 Lou Gehrig (NYY) -1

20 Miguel Montero
21 Matt Moore
52 Cameron Maybin
160 Shane Victorino
296 Mark Trumbo
Mini104 Ian Desmond
PACK TOTAL: +3
RUNNING TOTAL: +82

So a quarter of the way through, I've probably got half of points. I could be wrong but I think the Silks are an extra hit and I'll still be getting 2 relics or 1 relic & 1 auto. Stay tuned for the remaining 18 packs.